Mumbai: Met Arun Gawli for just 10 mins, Arjun Rampal tells cops

Actor had been summoned after his allegedly unauthorised meeting with the gangster-turned-politician; his statement was recorded by the police

Actor Arjun Rampal recorded his statement with the police regarding his meeting with gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli without permission at the J J Hospital on December 29, 2014, on Tuesday.

Arun Gawli and Arjun Rampal

Though the police had information that the actor and the don spoke for around one hour, Rampal denied it and said he only spoke to Gawli for ten minutes. The actor had met Gawli without taking any permission. The police got a tip-off about it and inspector Kadam of the J J Marg police station reached the hospital and told the two that they could not carry on.

“The J J Marg police station summoned Rampal, and on Tuesday he recorded his statement with the Additional Commissioner of Police, South region’s office,” said Dhananjay Kulkarni, spokesperson of the Mumbai police.

Rampal told the police that he had gone to J J Hospital as he was going to shoot in the premises, and met the don as he was told that Gawli was in the hospital. “As Arjun is doing a film on Gawli, which I am producing, his role required him to meet him (Gawli).

We had told the police that we wanted to meet Gawli, and Gawli himself came out to receive Arjun,” said Mandar Dalvi, who is producing the film Daddy, which is based on Gawli’s life. Rampal is playing Gawli in it.

Rampal told cops he had a discussion with Gawli only for 10 minutes, but sources in the police department told mid-day they spoke at length and stopped only when J J Marg police officers intervened.

Sources said the Navi Mumbai police escorting Gawli who allowed the actor to meet him could be in trouble. Gawli is serving life term for the 2007 murder of a corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar.